CBN:Unveiling Of new Naira Notes, Buhari Beat Politicians And Counterfeiters To It

By Lateef Adegbite

 President Muhammadu Buhari, appears to have beaten the politicians, currency Speculators and Counterfeiters, who are hell- bent on seeing to the continuous devaluation of the naira to it. He appears to have pull the rung under their feet.

 Aware that the 2023, general elections is around the corner and that politicians and their sponsors have stocked huge sums of money in their houses and buried some on the ground in order to use it to buy votes during the upcoming general elections, may have encouraged the Katsina state born Nigerian President to unveil the redesigned N200, N500 and N1000, notes, ahead of the December 15, 2022, slated for it by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, under the close watch of Godwin Emefiele. 

The Nigerian President may have launched the new naira Notes, ahead of the date slated for it, to avoid giving the politicians, currency Speculators and Counterfeiters  room, to use their contacts in the banks, to change their old Naira notes, to the new Notes with ease.

 In unveiling the new currency notes, which many believe is targeted at the politicians, particular, on Wednesday, November 23, 2022, the President who had said that ‘‘this is the first time in over 19 years, that the country will be redesigning its currency notes’’ had unscored the importance of redesigning the three old bigger naira denominations. He had said that the naira redesign will ‘‘aid the country to address the issue of illicit financial flows, corruption, improve the nation’s economy’’.

 He was said to have further stated while unveiling the new notes during the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting last Wednesday at the Council Chambers in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, that the decision to redesign the naira notes was‘‘borne out of the urgent need to control the currency in circulation and counterfeiting of the high denomination naira notes’’.   

An elated President Buhari, had said that the redesigned naira notes will boost the CBN’s monetary policy initiative’’. According to him, the first set of the new naira notes was printed by the Nigerian Printing and minting company, NPMC, noting that ‘‘it will prevent counterfeiting of the new naira notes’’.

The Nigerian President who could beat his chest that the country  is among  the four  of the 54 African countries that  could print their own currencies locally  described it as ‘‘a thing of pride  that Nigeria  does not  print its currencies abroad like many  African currencies do it and import them  the same way Industrialists import their raw materials for their manufacturing plants or other category of importers import their  goods for sales in the local market’’.

In apparent response to the information making the rounds that the decision to redesign the country’s bigger naira denominations notes was targeted at politicians and some other Nigerians, Emiefele, the CBN, governor, who will not take it, has appealed to the Nigerian public  ‘‘to desist  from peddling such rumours’’, stressing that ‘’the decision was taken in the interest of the nation’s economy’’.   

The CBN,  governor, may have sent a message to Nigerians, who are using their local currency accumulation,  to buy the North American country of the United States, US, dollar, for the keeps, awaiting for the naira to  be devalued to make huge profit  and the counterfeiters of the naira, that  they will make a loss this time around as  the apex Bank has taken a bold initiative to redesign  the naira  after every five to eight years.

For the Counterfeiters, particular, Emefilele has a word for them that that they have been succeeding in the past to do so but that ‘‘the redesigned new naira note can never be counterfeited’’. He was said to have made it clear to the counterfeiters that the apex bank is now more determined than ever ‘‘to make Nigeria a cashless economy as obtained in the developed economies and other parts of the world’’.

He has every reason to warn the counterfeiters, described as the major killers of the local currency, citing the amount in circulation as at the end of Sepember2022, tat was against what was released by the apex bank.

Giving an insider information, about the currency in circulation at the end of month of September, 2022, he had that N2.7 trillion, out of the N3 trillion of the nation’s currency in circulation was completely outside the vault of the Commercial Banks, operating in the country and supposedly held by the public.

The CBN governor, had told those that cares to listen that the country’s currency in circulation has more than doubled since 2015 to N2 trillion to the end of September, 2022. Emefiele had described it as worrisome, insisting that it must be stopped at all costs.

As a prelude to avoid abuse in the transition from the old local currency notes to the new naira notes,  the Delta state born Banker, who has the backing of President Buhari, had said  that  the Regulatory Authorities  will intensify ‘‘the  monitoring process and interrogate  the process of withdrawals’’.

He was emphatic that ’’There will be heavy restriction on the volume of cash that people can withdraw over the counter’’. The apex bank was said to have mandated the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, under the close watch of the no nonsense Adulaziz Bawa, ‘‘to effectively monitor the purpose of any heavy transactions at the bank’’.

Already, the apex bank as part of efforts to withdraw the old N200, N500 and N1000  notes,  had said that it has received  a total of N165 billion  so far  following its calls  on Nigerians  to deposit all their old notes in circulation. Rasheed Adams, CBN, Director of Currency  , had aid that  the figures  is far beyond  the total receipts  the  bank had expected  from the Nigerian depositors  one month after  the announcement  to redesign the three big naira denominations  was made.

The CBN, Currency Director, who had expressed concern that many Nigerians are still not coming forward to deposit their old currency notes in spite of the waiver granted by the apex bank on deposits, stating  that ‘‘there will be no extension on the January 2023, deadline, for all old naira notes to be deposited in the Money Deposit Banks, MDB’’ for easy exchange to the new notes. He had reechoed what Emefiele, the Aapex bank governor had said that ‘‘a total of N2.7 trillion is currently outside the banking system’’.  

 Financial analysts had said that with the   unveiling of the new notes, the local currency which have been witnessing a free fall in the parallel market has appreciated in the last one week, as the exchange rate which  was N785.00 to the US, dollar, had dropped  to N775.00 in Lagos , the nation’s Commercial nerve centre black market  and N765.00 to the dollar, in the oil city of PortHarcourt.

The analysts are optimistic that with the recent unveiling of the new naira notes, the local Currency will continue to appreciate against other world major currencies as the government had succeeded in giving the currency speculators and counterfeiters a shocker that they will never come out of it any time soon.

In a related development Abubakar Malami, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, and minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, had said that the Federal government   has made a recovery of $1 billion since the inception of the Buhari Administration in May 29, 2015 and now.

The minister opined that the recovered assets, have been deployed various sectors  of the economy by , particular, poverty alleviation and the nation’s economy’’ by the Federal government over the last seven years.